1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to surface paving, and more particularly to a surface paving apparatus which can be easily assembled into an immovable, durable, surface and which can be subsequently disassembled and moved.
2. Description of the Background Art
When civilization arose, so arose the necessity for paved surfaces to facilitate the movement of people and the goods of commerce. In general, the utilitarian requirements of a reliable paved surface have been that it remain immovable in the face of heavy traffic, that it be durable in the face of the elements, that it be adaptable to varying terrain and soil conditions, that it provide for adequate drainage and that it be simple to maintain. To achieve the requirement of immovability, most prior art paving surfaces have employed borders of rock or cement, to hold the paving material in place, or else in addition to borders, have used packed sand, or some other suitable material placed in between the sections of paving material, to achieve the requirement of immovability.
For example, British Pat. No. 244,504 applied for by Cardell, on Aug. 19, 1924, discloses a paving surface comprised of grooved paving blocks, wherein the grooves are designed to accommodate the bars of a structural "rebar" lattice, laid upon a roadbed. Wet cement or mortar is poured into the rebar lattice and the paving blocks are set upon the wet cement, such that the grooves settle upon the bars of the lattice, thereby bonding the blocks, rebar lattice and cement, together.
Belgian Pat. No. 540850 applied for by Desmedt et. al. on Aug. 27, 1955, discloses a tile laying apparatus wherein the tile have wide channels on their undersides. A series of rods are placed in the channels for purposes of aligning adjacent pieces of tile. Once the tile is laid and aligned, the rods are removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 123,219 issued to Beidler on Jan. 30, 1872, discloses a wooden paving surface comprised of wedge-shaped wooden blocks, cut away at the outer edges, to form a tenon and shoulder, which allows the blocks to rest upon strips laid parallel with the street. The spaces between the blocks are then filled with gravel, sand, tar, or pitch, to create an immovable surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 112,239 issued to Grant on Feb. 28, 1871, discloses a wood pavement comprised of a set of grooved upper and lower blocks; the lower blocks being set upon the road bed and the upper blocks serving as the road surface. The blocks are joined by the nature of their interlocking grooves, as well as by a system of hooks which wrap around the grooves, to form a sturdy paving surface. Any spaces between the blocks are then filled with sand or gravel to create an immovable surface.
British Pat. No. 373,715 applied for by Russell on Apr. 1, 1931, discloses a wooden pavement surface comprised of a series of wooden blocks with grooved bottoms. The grooves in the bottoms of the blocks match the configuration of a series of ribs laid upon the surface to be paved, such that when the ribs are matched to the grooves, they become interlocked, thereby holding the blocks in position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,482 issued to Neale on Sep. 15, 1964, discloses a composite floor structure comprised of bricks laid upon a metal grid. At intervals, the grid has projections which are spaced according to the width of the bricks used. When the bricks are placed between the projections on the grid, the projections abut against the edges of tile bricks, such that the bricks are held fast between the projections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,825 issued to Lundahl on Sep. 13, 1977, discloses a pavement apparatus comprised of a wire grid, possessing brick-size grid spaces, which may be transported, or stored on a roll and when unrolled onto a flat path, the bricks can subsequently be individually mounted in each of the grid spaces. Sand or mortar can then be driven into the spaces between the bricks, to create an immovable surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,811 issued to Adams on Mar. 21, 1989, discloses a prefabricated pavement device which has a support layer consisting of wire or plastic mesh.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,172 issued to Blackburn on Sep. 16, 1975, discloses a method for laying wooden floors, wherein slices of wood material are placed on an asphalt or bitumen foundation and then adhesives are poured between the slices of wood material to fill in any gaps.
The foregoing paving surfaces achieve a degree of permanence which make it difficult for them to be moved once they are in place. Should a need arise for these paving surfaces to be moved, movement can only be achieved through a significant expenditure of energy and by incurring damage to the paving surface itself, thereby necessitating replacement of whole or part of the surface with an entirely new paving surface. Attempts to create a surface which is durable and immovable in place, yet which can be easily disassembled and moved, have met with marginal success.
U.S. Pat. No. 321,403 issued to Underwood on Jun. 30, 1885, describes a system of grooved paving blocks adapted to be assembled upon a series of ribbed base plates. The ribbed plates serve as a base material and have perforations to allow for drainage. The grooves in the paving blocks accommodate the ribs on the baseplate, allowing for the assembly of a paving surface, by placing numerous blocks over the ribs on the base plates. The outermost ribs on the base plates are half as wide as the center ribs, specifically so that two base plates can be joined by fitting a grooved paving block over the outermost ribs of the two adjoining base plates, effectively locking them together. This design was created so that whole sections of pavement could be removed by merely lifting the blocks off the ribs and subsequently removing the baseplates, should a section of road bed or sewer beneath the pavement require repair. While Underwood allows for the disassembly and removal of small sections of pavement, the cumbersome and rigid nature of the base plates, make it difficult to disassemble and move the entire pavement in a quick and efficient manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 658,868 issued to Rosenbaum on Oct. 2, 1900 discloses an improvement in securing vitreous slabs to walls, floors or ceilings. In Rosenbaum, the wall, floor, or ceiling to be covered, possess parallel, hollow, dovetailed ridges, the parallel nature of the ridges thereby creating channels. The vitreous slabs are pressed into the channels and are held secure by the spring-like characteristics of the hollow dovetailed ridges. While it may be inferred that the spring-like nature of the dovetailed ridges allow for simple disassembly of the invention, it is not specifically stated as such. Also, in Rosenbaum, no mention is made of the utility of this invention for use as a pavement surface.
A need therefore still exists for a paving surface which is durable and immovable when in place, yet which can be easily disassembled, moved, and reassembled in another location without incurring any damage to the paving surface. Additionally, it is also important that a movable paving surface be free from weeds and plants, which can protrude through the joints of the paving surface and degrade it. The surface paving apparatus disclosed herein, satisfies these requirements.
The foregoing patents reflect the state of the art of which the applicant is aware and are tendered with the view toward discharging applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information which may be pertinent in the examination of this application. It is respectfully stipulated, however, that none of these patents teach or render obvious, singly or when considered in combination, applicant's claimed invention.